1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a female terminal in which an electrical contact portion of a tubular shape having a rectangular cross-section is enhanced in strength, thereby preventing deformation during the manufacture of the terminal.
2. Related Art
FIG. 6 shows a conventional female terminal.
This female terminal 16 comprises a terminal body 18, which has at one end portion thereof an electrical contact portion 17 of a tubular shape having a rectangular cross-section and a wire connection portion 9 at the other end portion, and a separate contact spring piece 5 provided within the electrical contact portion 17. The spring piece 5 has at its central portion ears 6 which are loosely engaged respectively in window holes 7 formed respectively in side walls 3 of the electrical contact portion 17, so that the spring piece 5 is retained so as to be flexed upwardly and downwardly.
The female terminal 16 is manufactured as shown in FIGS. 7 to 11. Namely, in a condition in which the two side walls 3 are opened away from each other as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the spring piece 5 connected to a link band 14 is placed in the electrical contact portion 17, and the side walls 3 are pressed toward each other by a jig 19, so that the ears 6 of the spring piece 5 are received in the window holes 7, respectively. Then, the link band 14 for the spring piece 5 is cut, and as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, distal end portions of the upright side walls 3 are bent by an inclined jig 20 and a horizontal jig 21 to form a top wall 12. Thus, there is obtained the electrical contact portion 17 of a tubular shape having a rectangular cross-section, with the ears 6 of the spring piece 5 loosely engaged respectively in the window holes 7 for upward and downward movement.
In the above conventional female terminal 16, however, the large window holes 7 for allowing the flexing of the spring piece 5 are formed respectively through the side walls 3 of the electrical contact portion 17, and therefore when the side walls are pressed from the upper side to form the top wall 12 during the manufacture (FIG. 10), the side walls 3 are liable to be curved outwardly, which results in a problem that the ears 6 are disengaged respectively from the window holes 7, so that the spring piece 5 drops.